Five golfers with Alabama connections are hitting the green for this year’s Masters tournament.
The Masters’ 80th tournament started today in Augusta, Georgia, and will continue throughout the weekend. Eighty-nine golfers, including five with Alabama connections, will be competing for the title and green jacket currently owned by 22-year-old Jordan Spieth. Four of the Alabama golfers have been professionals for a number of years, but the fifth (and only native Alabamian) is in his first full season on the PGA Tour.
Here are the Alabama golfers to look out for this weekend:
Bubba Watson – Watson started his career playing for Faulkner State Community College in Alabama and the University of Georgia. He turned pro in 2002 and won the 2012 and 2014 Masters. Watson has made the cut for the Masters seven times in a row.
Graeme McDowell – An immigrant from Northern Ireland, McDowell came to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the United States for college. He became a professional in 2002 and won the U.S. Open in 2010.
Jason Dufner – Originally from Ohio, Dufner went to school at Auburn University. He turned pro in 2000 and has already had a successful professional career. He won the 2013 PGA Championship and finished in the top 10 twice in 2015. Dufner now lives in Auburn with his family.
Justin Thomas – Thomas was on the golf team at the University of Alabama and was part of the school’s 2013 national championship team that tied for third place. In his rookie PGA season in 2015, Thomas had seven top 10 finishes and has already won his first tournament, the CIMB Classic
Smylie Kaufman – The only native Alabamian, Kaufman was born in Birmingham and graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 2010. He went to LSU on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 2014. This year is Kaufman’s first full season on the PGA Tour and has already won the 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
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